1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to training safety devices and methods, and, more particularly, to weapons safety devices for use during blank fire operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Police and military forces conduct drills, simulated combat, and training exercises using blank ammunition instead of real, or live, ammunition. Extra precaution is required to ensure that firearm magazines are only loaded with blank cartridges during these exercises. Blank fire operations are nonetheless inherently dangerous, however, because a live cartridge, or round, may be mistakenly inserted into a firearm magazine, creating the possibility that a user will discharge the live round and injure or kill another participant. For example, in order to simulate combat against the enemy, blank-fire training often calls for a participant to “fire” a blank-loaded weapon at other participants in the training exercise who are acting as opposing forces. When a live round is accidentally introduced into the weapon and fired at a participant, serious injury and death may result.
Firing blanks from firearms generally designed to fire live ammunition involves special considerations. For example, firing a blank results in reduced barrel pressure compared to firing a live round, as a blank contains significantly less propellant (gunpowder) than a live round. Many weapons require a specific amount of barrel pressure, developed as the bullet courses down the barrel, to cycle the weapon's next round. To assist a firearm loaded with blanks to cycle properly with reduced barrel pressure, a blank fire adapter, or BFA, may be screwed on to the end of the firearm, occluding the barrel. The blank fire adapter can be configured to increase barrel pressure and cause the bolt of the firearm to cycle properly. In cases where a live round is accidentally fired from a firearm configured with a blank fire adapter, a bullet strikes the adapter and generally produces shrapnel and fragmentation similar to as if it had exploded. Such “explosions” are another potential cause of injury during blank-fire mishaps. Additionally, the bullet tends to continue through the blank fire adapter and toward whatever the weapon was pointed at. With the blank fire adapter now forcibly removed, nothing prevents a second round fired from having essentially normal operation.
Thus, preventing a live round from accidentally being loaded into a firearm and discharged during blank fire exercises, while taking into account special considerations associated with firing blanks, remains a significant challenge in military and law enforcement operations.